


45

by MarburyBlur



Category: Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-27 16:27:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7625734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarburyBlur/pseuds/MarburyBlur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During a fit of the Complex, Artemis discovers that there may be a number with worse consequences than four.</p>
            </blockquote>





	45

It'd been a rough few months in the Fowl manor. Artemis's recovery from the Atlantis Complex was moving at a frustratingly slow pace, one of the longest treatments recorded. Not that that meant much seeing as how he is the first human to have ever contracted such a thing.

Only a month ago had Artemis Fowl the Second moved out of Dr. Argon's clinic in Haven City, still visiting thrice a week for more therapy sessions. Some could say he was doing better, and he usually was. However, once a week like clockwork, he'd have an episode of relapse with arguably the worst symptoms throughout the entire experience.

Myles was smart and could tell something was wrong with his older brother but chose never to speak up about it. Beckett was a bit less aware but expressed his worry through calling Artemis a simpleton (yes, they learned how to pronounce it as Artemis refused to have two Fowls under his tutelage repeat an easily correctable mistake).

Angeline Fowl was glad her eldest came home and made sure to give him his space whenever he needed it, taking the twins to Europe an unprecedented amount of times in the last month. Artemis the First had oh-so-conveniently been out on a two-month business trip and had not been present on his son's return.

Juliet had returned to her wrestling tour at Artemis's urging. Holly made as many visits as she could, which is to say two in the last month; coincidentally each were approved the day after one of the plentiful dates with Commander Kelp. They mostly talked on his visits to the Lower Elements.

Butler, however, had stayed by his principal's side the entire time, going above and below as frequently as Artemis himself. He stayed on hand through his episodes of relapse and made sure he ate.

At the moment, he was bringing a plate of food up to Artemis's office. The genius had been doing well today, even taking care to not speak in fives. Things were looking up so of course—

CRASH.

Butler was immediately on alert, setting the plate quietly on the floor and whipping out Sig Sauer. He pressed himself to the door and heard indistinct murmuring. Another crash rang out and Butler burst into the room, gun ready.

Artemis was standing in the middle of the room with a wild look in his eyes. His shoulders were tense and his suit was rumpled. He didn't seem to notice the new presence and continued the muttering. The crazed thief stared across the room at an expensive paperweight that had been thrown against the wall. Next to the glass shards was a lamp that seemed to have been shoved off the end table it previously rested on.

Butler holstered his gun and carefully walked to his principal.

"Artemis. Are you okay?" he asked in gentle, low tones.

The ravenette violently flinched and looked up at the Eurasian man.

"Four. Four is bad. Very," Artemis spoke audibly.

Butler inwardly frowned at the stilted, forced cadence of speech as Artemis's compulsions overrode his propriety. Outwardly, he schooled his features as to not set off his principal's paranoia.

The bodyguard was about to speak when Artemis took off towards his desk and grabbed his stapler, pencil holder, and laptop.

Butler looked at him in confusion.

"Four is death, Butler, so I must counteract this with the number five. Like so," Artemis explained, seeming to have recovered a bit of lucidity in his speech before he hefted the stapler in his left hand and threw it at the wall with all of his strength. Its hinge broke and it fell to the floor in a shower of staples.

Butler, with all his reflexes, only managed to stop Artemis after he threw his pencil cup against the wall where it met the same doom as the four other objects. The blond giant grabbed Artemis's wrists when the pale boy had hefted his laptop in both of his hands above his head, ready to smash one of his prized possessions on the floor.

"Artemis, stop! This is your laptop. You do not want to break this object unless you wish to lose countless hours of research and information."

Artemis's eyes cleared ever so slightly as he looked at the object in his hands.

"You're right, old friend. I'm sorry for losing control and making such a mess. I will clean it up. Sorry," Artemis said quietly. Butler took the laptop out of his hands and set it on the desk.

"I brought you some food," Butler said calmly. He was reluctant to turn away from the volatile boy but quickly turned to grab the plate from outside the door and hurried in to see Artemis compulsively rearranging his much emptier desk.

The blond set the plate in the midst of Artemis's item shuffling and gently guided the teen to his chair.

"Eat, and tell me what has distressed you enough to want to bring harm to your laptop," Butler asked, regretting it almost instantly when what little skin color Artemis had drained from his face.

"Please, tell me, Artemis, and perhaps I can help."

Artemis began tapping his rhythm of fives on his knee.

"I was recalculating the costs of THE PROJECT when I came across a certain number," Artemis began. He closed his eyes and the tempo of his tapping increased.

"What was the number…Artemis?" Butler added as an afterthought.

The tapping abruptly stopped and Artemis's eyes flew open.

"Forty-five," he whispered as if the word was Voldemort's name itself. He stood up and began pacing the large office, deliberately taking ten steps before turning the other way.

"Forty-five, Butler! What do I do with forty-five? It has four which is obviously a number that should not even be spoken aloud. But it also has five, which is indubitably the luckiest syllable in any language. Forty-five is also a multiple of five which should put a point in its favor, but it is a two-digit number which, if doubled, becomes four, so the number is evidently a harbinger of death! Butler, there are only three options that present themselves to me at the moment. Help me choose one."

Butler stood patiently in front of Artemis, used to these episodes and knowing to just humor them.

"Of course. What are the options?"

"One, I terminate THE PROJECT. What am I saying? That is not an option. See, the options are already dwindling. Good job, Butler. Only two."

Butler hardly had time to nod his head before Artemis barreled on.

"Two, which is technically one now, is to eradicate the number 45 from all of existence. The human world, Lower Elements, space, everywhere. That number needs to be gone. Now."

The butler kept a smooth façade but inwardly wondered how Artemis, even in his crazed state, believed eradicating a number was more viable than stopping a project.

"And what is option three?"

"Three is a bit riskier but it goes like this." Artemis darted towards his plate and grabbed the fork, disrupting his salad. He sprinted towards the outlet behind his desk, dropped to his knees, and ripped out his personal desk lamp's cord. As an afterthought, he tugged on the cord so the lamp fell to the floor as the Complexed boy muttered "Five."

Before Butler could react (damn, his instincts were dulled from all the time he's spent with this boy), Artemis shoved the fork into the socket and immediately felt the effects of the electrocution as he jolted back and fell to the floor.

The blond rushed to his side and checked for signs of life. Apparently, the shock wasn't too fatal as the ravenette in front of him stirred.

Butler almost breathed a sigh of relief before he realized the typical side effect of electrocution on Artemis. And as patient and adaptive of the Complex's symptoms Butler had been—

"Hello, grand knight! Let's go on an adventure together!"

—he really couldn't stand Orion.


End file.
